Child Of Eden is the spiritual successor to Rez, Tetsuya Mizuguchi's rhythm-action, on-rails shooter. Released for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 roughly ten years ago, and more recently for Xbox Live Arcade, Rez offered a completely unique gaming experience.

Featuring stripped-down, pulsating visuals and an ever-changing electronic soundtrack; it was part-shooter, part-interactive rave, but wholly enjoyable and somewhat revolutionary. It was with high hopes, therefore, that we approached latest musical-based shoot-em-up Child Of Eden for the Xbox 360.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

However, not only must Child Of Eden live up to its forebear, but it should also do something to reignite our interest in Microsoft's floundering, motion-sensing device Kinect.

Much like the 3DS - which has just been saved by The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D - Kinect has suffered from a severe lack of titles since its launch and really needs a must-have, killer app if it is to convince us of its credentials and get the hardcore gamer on board. Thankfully, despite a few issues with its length, Child Of Eden is just that.

The game takes place in Eden, a futuristic version of the internet so advanced that scientists are attempting to create artificial life within its expanses. In order to create life, they use the preserved body and memories of Lumi, the first human to be born in outer space. Unfortunately, Project Lumi comes under threat from a powerful virus, which tears through Eden, endangering Lumi's memories, dreams and knowledge of Earth.

Much like Rez, the task is to defeat the virus in order to save Eden and prevent Lumi from being forever wiped out of existence. As nonsensical as it sounds, the story is compelling and emotive, largely due to the game's highly immersive and engaging multi-sensory gameplay.

Child Of Eden contains a somewhat paltry five levels - or archives, as they are referred to in the game - each of which features a different theme, wonderfully brought to life with the use of colours, shapes, backgrounds and enemies and tied together by the soundtrack. Each level takes the player on a real journey and they somehow manage to tell a story without utilising many of the usual narrative techniques.

Take the second level, for example, called Evolution. Bathed in a constant blue glow and featuring flashes of water and waves, Evolution contains a flurry of ever-evolving underwater enemies, from single-cell amoebas to enormous whales. As the enemies and backdrops evolve, the music increases in pace and grows in intensity, before reaching a glorious and powerful climax.

Just as this occurs, a wonderful on-screen transformation takes place signalling the beginning of one of the game's majestic boss battles and the culmination of years of evolution. It's a truly powerful and absorbing experience and one that really has to be witnessed first-hand.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

In terms of gameplay, Child Of Eden is very similar to Rez. The game's main weapons are the Lock-on Laser and the Tracer. The rather self-explanatory Lock-on Laser is the more powerful of the two and can destroy or damage eight enemies or weak spots at once.

The rapid-fire Tracer cannon is slightly weaker, but is the only way to destroy bullets and defeat certain enemies. There are also a limited number of Euphoria bombs, which do a certain amount of damage to everything on screen.

Much like Rez, the game also features an interactive soundtrack and rewards players more points and stars (which are needed to unlock later levels) for firing weapons and obliterating targets in time with the beat. Attempting to marry survival with the soundtrack becomes incredibly difficult in later levels, but this added challenge gives the game some much-needed replay value.

The challenge is made a little easier with the aid of a vibrating 360 pad, which - in a rather innovative touch - can be used in-hand or placed on a flat surface as a makeshift audio cue.

What Child Of Eden has that Rez doesn't, however, are Kinect controls, and we're happy to report these are highly accurate and incredibly intuitive. Players use their right hand as the Lock-on Laser and the left hand as the Tracer cannon, while holding both arms above their head unleashes Euphoria.

Moving your right arm across the screen to target enemies with the Lock-on Laser is followed by a satisfying Jedi-style flick of the palm to actually fire the weapon. It's very quick, very responsive and has restored a little of our faith in Kinect's functionality.

While it's true that Child Of Eden can be played without Kinect - which is probably a little easier and is still enjoyable - it's a lot more fun controlling the action with your hands and conducting the game like an orchestra. Playing while stood up and without the aid of controllers feels a little more futuristic and seems to suit the multi-sensory aspect of the game, especially with the 360 pad vibrating along to the beat in the background.

Unfortunately, Child Of Eden is a rather short game, which is likely to deter non-Kinect users from shelling out the full asking price, which is a real shame. The five levels can be completed within a few hours, although most will find it difficult to obtain all of the necessary stars without repeating a few levels here and there.

Dying at any point in the level takes you back to the beginning of an archive, which further extends playtime, albeit rather cheaply. There is some unlockable content, including a marathon mode of sorts, but the majority of the game's extras (mainly consisting of artwork) aren't likely to keep players coming back time and time again.

The fact that Child Of Eden is a Kinect game, and more importantly a Kinect game that actually works, makes it a little easier to overlook its short length and lack of content. It rivals Dance Central for accuracy, Kinect Sports for fun and trumps the lot of them for presentation and originality - despite sharing a lot in common with Rez.

Quite simply, it's an incredibly stimulating and strangely provocative shooter, which is not something that you hear every day.

In fact, so impressive are the visuals, so entrancing is the soundtrack and so addictive is the core gameplay, that Child Of Eden is worth checking out whether limited to playing with a regular controller or using Kinect. However, for those without access to the latter, it might be better to rent the game first, instead of paying full price for something that will be over in a matter of hours.

For Kinect users, though, there really is no excuse not to enter Eden and experience virtual paradise.